Phi Mu donates over $10,000 and Marissa Aranda’s hair

Marissa Aranda put her hair on the line for Phi Mu’s childhood cancer awareness fundraiser. In the end, more than $10,000 and Aranda’s long brown hair were donated to the cause. She had her head shaved Saturday, September 28, in downtown Little Rock.

The Southern Arkansas University Phi Mu chapter and the Greater Little Rock Alumni Chapter of Phi Mu set out to raise $7,500 for childhood cancer awareness month. They set out collecting donations from individuals and businesses with Aranda and her “head shaving for a cause” promise headlining the campaign.

“It was really amazing that people could come together in such a short amount of time to raise what we needed,” said Aranda.

As her hair was segmented into four long braids, cut, then her head shaved, Aranda had the support of Elijah Talley, 12, who has battled cancer for eight years of his life.

The money raised is being donated to the Children’s Miracle Network and to the American Childhood Cancer Organization of Arkansas in honor of Elijah and Creed Foster, 5. Creed could not attend the head shaving event as he had to be recently readmitted into Arkansas Children’s Hospital.

Daniel Rodriguez, Aranda’s boyfriend, also showed his support by having his head shaved as well. He joked before the shaving about how important and how much time Aranda would spend brushing her hair in a given day.

Aranda was sporting a hat and a smile on the SAU campus Monday. She said she enjoyed the extra sleep allowed to her now that fixing her hair was not a part of her morning routine.